Rashid stars as Qalandars beat Islamabad United by 5 wickets

ABU DHABI: Rashid Khan scored match-winning runs for Lahore Qalandars as they defeated Islamabad United by five wickets in the opening match of the second leg of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) sixth edition.

Qalandars were under pressure early in the game after losing skipper Sohail Akhtar and Mohammad Hafeez. They needed 16 off the last over and it was Rashid came to rescue his team. ge scored 15 runs from 5 balls to earn the nail-biting victory in the final over.

Sohail Akhtar lead from the front, scoring 40 runs – the highest individual score in the innings –  before being dismissed by Fawad Ahmed. Mohammad Hafeez scored 29, Tim David 23, Ben Dunk 17, while Fakhar Zaman and Muhammad Faizan hit 9 runs each. Hasan Ali took two wickets, whereas Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, and Fawad Ahmed were able to take one each.

Earlier, Islamabad United had set a 144-run target for Lahore Qalandars. None of United’s players, except Faheem Ashraf, 27, were able to score above 20 runs. The left-handed batsman joined the crease when United were at 80-6 as he stood his ground and scored some runs for his team.

James Faulkner picked three wickets on his PSL debut. Colin Munro, Rohail Nazir, and Shadab Khan fell prey to the Australian bowler. He finished his four overs with three wickets and 32 runs. Haris Rauf and Ahmed Daniyal bagged two wickets each. Another debutant Usman Khuwaja was dismissed early by Haris in the seventh over.

Rashid Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi also dismissed two batsmen. Faheem fell to Shaheen after scoring 27 runs off 24 balls laced with two boundaries and a six.

Leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed got a breakthrough in the 13th over when Sohail misjudged his wrong’un and got LBW. Hasan Ali joined in and took Hafeez and Ben Dunk quickly to put United under pressure.

Tim David played sensibly and scored 23 runs laced with a boundary and a six before Rashid finished the game. After the win, Qalandars have grabbed the top position at the points table with eight points. They won four out of five matches and have lost one.